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Pody's column: Remembering the fun of February as a child

The events of February changed so much during my lifetime. Years ago we celebrated both George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's Birthdays. They were more than two days off school. They were lessons in history, speech, theater, composition and art.

The assignment started with a composition and ended with a test or quiz. Even in high school I remember our English and home ec classes somehow included lessons about these famous men. Today their birthdays have been combined and celebrated on a Monday in February -- a retailer's dream in the new year.

Then came Valentine's Day. Our first assignment after the holiday vacation was to cut out pictures we could use on our homemade cards. We'd also have to make up rhymes or sayings that would be put on our cards.

During the last week in January we could start working on our Valentines. One for the teacher, our parents, siblings and schoolmates. The teacher had reams of red, pink and white construction paper plus some left over lace on a spool. We'd cut and paste our special creations. We each had our secret box to put our project in for safe keeping.

The afternoon of Valentine's Day, mothers would come in the afternoon and bring treats for our party.

After playing a few games, we would pass out our creations before the food was brought out.

Things had changed when our children and grandchildren celebrated in February. In our ever changing world of today, I wonder if children in the future will even celebrate. There is too much for them to do, it would be an inconvenience to make cards. If they need one, they can toodle to the nearest store and buy one.